Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-07-16

NhcIc Oucc tue Qlgn dltar stooo; or sleep where pious nuns told .nen beads in holy seclusion. Many of 'ne sancsusries have been turned into army barracks, and horses are stabbed in toe ciolsters. and soldiers play cards ana mug their compsnsras in the de- secrated holy Of holies.
 narrowing iconoclast has lately transformed the grand old Jesuit col iese' with Its gracefully srched colon- nsae and broad stone stairways down which twelve persons could walk abreast into disgustingly gay and vulgar apart ment house, with red paint, gaudIly coiored glass and cheap furnishing. or course the smart" American, who bought thls contiscsted church property Tor mere bagstelle land to-day realizes an income from it of not less than $20,- UOO per annum, has the right to do as he piesses with his own; nevertheless be is
 GULLY OF HIGH TREASON
 Against good taste and architectural treaty and ought to suffer punishment tor the crime Of destroying one of tn most magnificent monuments of tha ecclesiastical power which did SO much m the days of the Viceroys toward em- belllshiDg MOnteZums's capital.
 The church Is no longer permitted tO hold real estate, most of its revenues are cut off, and private citizens are now invested with the titles of property which the priests once held as Gods representatives. Under the present regeime anybody can 'denouncer church property and buy 1t in for @ nominal sum. Now "nominsp depends upon the purchasers status with the government For example, in the old city of Zacs- iecas, the magnificent San AuRustin monastery and cathedral Gone of the finest structures in all Spanish-America) vas bought by General Ortega, one Of the favorites of the Liberal party, for ten dollars! Should anybody wonder why thIs party. who have proved them selves more narrow-minded in the op- pOsite direstIon than the power they uu- dertook to eradicate, should be mis- called Liberal" perhaps the explana- ton may be found il the unexampled hberaliiy which they have shown to themselves in disposing of stolen prop erty.
 Hundreds Of the churches and catbe- irGls which have not yet been turned t. sordii uses are entirely empty, having been stripped of everything that woul ssll or would burn; and relic hunter nave capped tne climax by knocking th noses and other members off the sculp- ,ured saints and carrying them away a. =ouvernirs of Msxicol Since the revolu ion which ended with the murder Of MsTImilliGn, the church-previously ta. more potent thar the government-has been losing its gup with astonishin rapidi;y. It still largely controls the ninds and morals of the lower classes, however ,fsnd there are remote prov inces where the Padre is yet tho most influential citizen; but the revolution '-ts have deprived him of political pow ar And robbed him of all the wealth be once held in the name Of the churches About the only altar m the country which has not been stripped of it's treas lrers is that of the Miraculous Virgin of GusdHlups
 THE PATRoSEss OF MEXICO.
 Her shrlue, in its church upon the lonely hilltop, five miles from the City lt Mexico. is still rich with gold and ,Ilvsr and the vestmen's of her raised images heavy with precious stones. In his sanctuary there is a balustrsde of l' solid silver, seventy feet long and hree feet high. few months ago sn -aterprising American offered to replace [ with a silver-plsted affair of the sanns ieslgp. snd pay a bonus of S3O0,OOO bu' he churc b indignantly declined the prop osition. Not long since one of the enor- nous silver chandeliers of the Puebl cathedral vas melted down, and when coined at the mint, yielded sixty thou .snd silver dollars.
 Speaking of silver reminds me of the State of Guerrero, Lately some Span ards went to Iguala. m that state, [ take possession of tract of land inner -ed from a deceased relative. But the Guerrero Indians utterly refuse to Give up the ground, notwithstanding that some faded psrehments, fished ont of he government archives. bear witness .o the fsct that shortly after the Span ,-h conquest ths, nation was officially yranted to. 'the loyal subject and brave soldier, Don Juan Gonzaga and his 1elrs forever" Here is theme fit for he saiuted author of RGmOnR. The aborigines say: "We can prove by all the traditions of our people that onT father's owned these hills and valleyf turing the reign of the elder Monte zuma. We are not like the white men our people never sell their homestesds and the graves of their ancestors. NJ pale face has ever dwelt here. and Vt will shoot the first one who dares to rrespass S oD our domaIn," And they lid shoot. when tbe slien heirs became irnportunats. Eight balls were extract ad from the perforated Spsniards. every one nt which was of solid silver. thgs hintlng that inc mining lands of Igus'a must be extremely rich.
 FANNIE B. WARD.